1. science

Art and Architecture
of Ireland
A prestige project breaks new ground
7. UCD scholars
recognised for mentoring
and research
INSIDE
5. 1600 years of Irish
Art and Architecture
in five volumes
9. Frank McGuinness’
adaptation of Electra
13. How Irish consonants
are revealing the secrets
of speech
www.ucd.ie/ucdtoday
WINTER 2014
Contents
Features
5
1600 years of
Irish Art and
Architecture in
five volumes
7
UCD scholars
recognised for
mentoring and
research
9
Frank McGuinness’
adaptation of
Electra
13
How Irish
consonants are
revealing the
secrets of speech
It’s all about brand
EILIS O’BRIEN
Director of
Communication
The challenge of any university strategic plan is to articulate its
distinctiveness from other universities. Of course we all want to be
excellent in our research and renowned for the quality of our teaching.
So, when it came to the publication of our new five-year strategy,
there was an inevitability that people would look for something different.
That difference is to be found in the nature of the global ambition. In his
recent inaugural address the President emphasised his idea of a global
university – one that fosters connectivity and encourages crossfertilisation of ideas between disciplines and across boundaries.
During the summer, we conducted some qualitative market research among
key stakeholders in Ireland and overseas. The respondents were honest and
even blunt. The academics knew their discipline counterparts but repeatedly they expressed a lack of
awareness about the university as an institution. Unprompted, each of the stakeholder groups talked
about the need to raise awareness of the “brand”. By this they do not mean the crest or name. They
mean getting the message out about what we stand for, who we are, and how we impact on society.
With the roadmap of objectives clearly set out in Strategy 2015-2020, the communication strategy will
focus on protecting and promoting our brand and on building our reputation not just here in Ireland but
globally.
There is no doubt that we are starting from a good base – as anyone can see from the presentation
“This is UCD 2014” that goes alongside the strategy http://www.ucd.ie/strategy2015-2020/.
The communication challenge is to embed this open approach into each of the College plans so that
we bring this great output to the attention of the wider world.
UCD thanks...
Contributors: Ebun Akpoveta, Conor Buggy, Ursula Byrne, Hugh
Campbell, Una Condron, David Corscadden, Christopher Cowley, Elaine
Cregg, Damien Dempsey, Nicola Figgis, Suzanne Hayden, Sinead
Hennessy, Shauna Hughes, Naonori Kodate, Zoe Liston, Geraldine
McDermott, Sarah Morton, Paula Murphy, Lynda Mulvin, Clár Ni
Bhuachalla, Maire Ni Choisáin, Ann O’Hanlon, Gavin O’Reilly, Diane Payne,
Elaine Quinn, Geraldine Quinn, Barry Smyth, Fiona Sweeney, Cormac
Taylor, Cathy Timlin, Miceal Whelan
Produced by: Eilis O’Brien, Aisling White, Dominic Martella
Design: Loman Cusack Design
Print: Fine Print
Thanks to: Diarmaid Ferriter, Pat Guiry, Ann Lavan, Damien McLoughlin, Diane
Sonnenwald, Regina Ui Chollatain
In the compilation of this publication, every care has been taken to ensure
accuracy. Any errors or omissions should be brought to the attention of UCD
University Relations ([email protected]). We also welcome your suggestions
for articles in future editions.
This publication is also available online at www.ucd.ie/ucdtoday
Cover image: John Lavery, Return from Market, 1884, oil on canvas,
117 x 61 cm, National Gallery of Ireland. Credit line: Photo © National Gallery
of Ireland
Please Recycle
News
Ireland rugby player and UCD graduate, Jonathan Sexton (centre) was presented with the UCD Foundation Day medal by
UCD President Prof. Andrew J. Deeks (left) with his citation read by ERC Chief Executive Derek McGrath (right) at the UCD
Foundation Day Alumni Awards
UCD Foundation Day Alumni Awards 2014
O’Reilly Hall in UCD played host to the
inaugural UCD Foundation Day Alumni
Awards on Friday November 14th. Hosted
by Pat Kenny, Ireland’s most influential
individuals from areas of business,
academia and culture gathered together
to support and celebrate the
accomplishments of UCD’s most
distinguished alumni across all 13
programmes within the University.
The event continued to maintain the tradition
of presenting the Foundation Day Medal to an
outstanding alumnus at the awards ceremony.
The medal is awarded annually to a UCD graduate
who demonstrates great achievement in their
field.
This year’s worthy winner was Jonathan
Sexton, in recognition of his outstanding
achievements both in provincial and national
rugby. Previous medallists include Dr Patrick
Hillary, Dr Maeve Binchy and Mr Mícheáil Ó’
Muircheartaigh.
“The 2014 UCD Foundation Day Alumni
Awards continues a 160-year-old tradition of
honouring the founding of UCD. This year
introduces a new tradition of celebrating the
success and contribution of our most
distinguished alumni world-wide”, said UCD
President, Professor Andrew J. Deeks.
Winners of the inaugural 2014 UCD Alumni
Awards were: Mairead McGuinness, Agricultural
Science; David McNulty, Architecture; Rosaleen
Linehan, Arts; Gary McGann, Business; Donal
O’Riain, Engineering; Sr Stanislaus Kennedy,
Social Sciences; Maeve O’Rourke, Law; Dr
Patricia Scanlan, Medicine; Siobhan O’Halloran,
Midwifery & Nursing; Clodagh Barry,
Physiotherapy; Evelyn Cusack, Science; and Noel
Fitzpatrick, Veterinary Medicine.
For more information on the winners visit
www.ucd.ie/alumni/awards
Pictured at the Teaching Hero Awards 2014 in Dublin Castle are Dr Kevin Costello, UCD School of Law; Prof. Bairbre Redmond,
Deputy Chair, National Forum; Sínead Sheerin, UCD School of Veterinary Medicine; Prof. Mark Rogers, Deputy President and
Registrar, UCD; Amy Fox, student; Áine Galvin, Director of Teaching & Learning, UCD
Teaching Hero
Award for two UCD
Academics
UCD Sutherland School of Law’s Dr Kevin
Costello and Ms Sínead Sheerin from the
UCD School of Veterinary Medicine were
recently presented with the National
Forum’s Teaching Hero Award.
The Teaching Hero Award is the first of its
kind in higher education in Ireland and it serves to
identify teachers who have had a positive and
lasting impact on students’ learning experiences
in higher education. The awards were established
by the National Forum for the Enhancement of
Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in
partnership with the Union of Students in Ireland
(USI) and other student bodies.
Fifty-three Teaching Heroes from 27 higher
education institutions throughout Ireland were
recognised at the awards ceremony in Dublin
Castle. The event was attended by Professor
Mary McAleese, the patron of the National Forum.
Des Higgins, Professor of Bioinformatics at the UCD
Conway Institute, whose research paper was featured
in Nature Magazine’s top 10 most highly cited research
publications of all time.
UCD Professor
in top ten most
highly cited
Following on from his accolade as
one of the ‘World’s most influential
Scientific Minds 2014’; a research
paper by Professor Des Higgins from
the UCD Conway Institute, that set
the international standard for DNA
sequence analysis, has been featured
in Nature’s top 10 most highly cited
research publications of all time.
The citation rate of a publication captures
how widely other scientists draw on that
publication in advancing their own work.
Professor Higgins is the only Irish scientist
to be included in the Top 10, and is amongst
the most highly cited scientist in the world,
helping to boost the profile of Irish science
around the world.
Higgins is Professor of Bioinformatics at
the UCD Conway Institute and a Principal
Investigator at Systems Biology Ireland. He
has been working in the areas of
bioinformatics and molecular evolution since
1985, predominantly on methods and
software for DNA and protein sequence
alignment. His research group in the UCD
Conway Institute currently works on
developing new bioinformatics and statistical
tools for evolutionary biologists and
addresses molecular evolutionary questions
using bioinformatics approaches.
“UCD is driven by research excellence,
and the work pioneered by Des Higgins in an
emerging field is testament to the value of
far-reaching
research.
Bioinformatics
fundamentally changed the field of biomedical
research and has enabled many of today’s
advances in personalised medicine.” Said
Professor Orla Feely, Vice-President of
Research, Innovation and Impact at UCD.
“Des has delivered profound impact, not
only academically, but also in new technology
and product development. His success
across the fields of biology and computer
science is testament to the true
interdisciplinary nature of his research”, she
added.
3 | Winter 2014
News
UCD academic
appointed to RTÉ
Board
The Minister for Communications,
Energy & National Resources,
Mr Alex White has announced that
Dr P.J. Mathews, from the UCD School
of English, Drama and Film has been
appointed as one of seven new
members of the RTÉ Board.
Mathews will serve alongside four other
newly appointed Ministerial Nominees; Moya
Doherty, who was appointed as Chair; Frank
Hannigan, Deborah Kelleher and Anne
O’Leary. Mr Fergus Armstrong was
reappointed to the board and Mr Aengus
Mac Grianna, the recently elected RTÉ
staff representative, was appointed by
Government.
The appointed board members were
selected due to their high calibre and
experience, delivering confidence that they
would be able to steer RTÉ to greater
financial stability.
Minister for Education and Skills
announces UCD to set up global centres
During a recent visit to China the Minister
for Education and Skills, Ms Jan O’Sullivan
announced that UCD was setting up global
centres in China, India, Malaysia and the
United States as part of its global
engagement strategy.
The UCD Beijing global centre is collocated
in the premises with the Irish Embassy and
Enterprise Ireland. Speaking from Beijing the
Minister said “By setting up global centres, UCD
will extend its activities beyond student
recruitment. Their purpose is to provide a focal
point for education, for alumni and diaspora
community, for research and academic
collaboration, for trade and intercultural
exchange”.
At present there are 6,000 international
students, including 600 Chinese students
studying in UCD in Dublin. Ninety of these are
PhD students funded through the China
Scholarship Council. Furthermore, there are 700
Irish students studying at overseas universities
as part of their UCD degree programmes. Some
18% of UCD’s Irish students spend part of their
degree studying at overseas universities and this
figure is set to expand in China and globally.
UCD is the lead university for the Ireland
China Research SFI ISCA (International Strategic
Collaboration Award) consortium. This is a major
national initiative fostering collaboration in
research and enterprise engagement between
UCD and other Irish partners, leading Chinese
universities and companies in both countries. It
focuses on four themes addressing critical
challenges and economic development
opportunities facing both Ireland and China, to
which UCD and the Irish university sector bring
world-leading expertise: Agri-Food, ICT, Health
and Energy.
Speaking about the opportunities that will
come from the UCD global centre in Beijing, the
President of UCD Professor Andrew J. Deeks
said “Ireland and China hold education in very
high regard and recognise the contribution
education makes to economic prosperity. The
success of the Confusius Institute at UCD which
is linked with Renmin University, has already
created a real bridge between the two countries.”
He continued “There are currently 1,000
UCD alumni in China with over 100 based in
Beijing. Through this global centre we will
develop networks for and with our graduates so
we can support their careers here. We have
been active for a much longer time in other parts
of Asia and have a further 2,000 alumni in Hong
Kong and 6,500 in Singapore, so there are
enormous opportunities to be realised by
creating this network”.
UCD Ranked
5th University
in Europe for
Producing
VC-backed
Entrepreneurs
University College Dublin is ranked 5th
in a list of European universities that have
produced venture capital (VC)-backed
undergraduates according to a report
recently published by PitchBook.
PitchBook is a Seattle-headquartered
research firm for private equity and
venture capital data.
According to the Report entitled ‘Top
Universities for VC-backed Entrepreneurs’,
during the period January 2009 to August 2014,
31 UCD graduate entrepreneurs established 26
companies which raised $112 million in funding.
UCD is the only Irish university in the top 10
list of European universities.
The University of London ranked the best
overall university in Europe with 71 graduate
entrepreneurs, establishing 67 companies which
raised just over $1 billion in funding.
Stanford ranked number 1 globally according
to this report with 378 entrepreneurs, establishing
309 companies raising just over $3.5 billion.
The PitchBook VC database includes the
educational backgrounds of over 13,000
founders worldwide. The rankings are based on
the number of founders that have received VC
funding in period of the report based on the
founders’ undergraduate qualifications.
4 | Winter 2014
Pictured at the inaugural O’Brien Science lecture are (l-r) Denis O’Brien, Businessman and Philanthropist, David Epstein,
author of ‘The Sports Gene’ and UCD President Prof. Andrew J. Deeks
Inaugural O’Brien Science
Lecture held in UCD
On October 23rd the inaugural O’Brien Science lecture was held in the George Moore
Auditorium in the O’Brien Centre for Science in UCD. The lecture was delivered by
David Epstein, author of the New York Times Bestselling book, The Sports Gene. UCD
President, Professor Andrew Deeks welcomed everybody on the day and handed over
to Businessman and Philanthropist Denis O’Brien to introduce the keynote speaker.
In his lecture, entitled “0.5% The margin
between good and great, and how to find it”,
Epstein outlined how as sports have become
more and more high stakes, global
competitions, the performance margins that
differentiate good, great and legendary have
shrunk dramatically.
According to Epstein, “cutting-edge
science has shone a light on the best path to
peak performance, and it contradicts the most
popular notions about skill acquisition, like the
famed “10,000 hour rule”. That argument says
that only accumulated hours of practice matter
to success. In fact, it seems that future experts
start off practicing less in their eventual
discipline than their peers.
He also analysed how – once at the top
competitive level – athletes are using “small
data” to find what factors most matter for
performance, and which of those they can
change in the pursuit of the final 0.5% of
performance.
The lecture concluded with a lively panel
discussion led by MC Enda McNulty. Panellists
included Annalise Murphy, Olympic sailor; Rob
Kearney, Leinster and Ireland rugby player;
Professor Colin Boreham, Director of the UCD
Institute for Sport and Health and two UCD Ad
Astra athletes, Darragh McDonald, Paralympian
and Karl Griffin, Olympic 800m hopeful and
recently announced Junior Athlete of the Year
2014.
Feature
CASTING LIGHT
ON IRELAND’S
CULTURAL
HERITAGE a prestige project
breaks new ground
A landscape painter was so
aggrieved at the poor placement
of his work at an exhibition in
Dublin, in 1863, that he took
a knife to a nearby painting,
tearing it from its frame. As the
art historian, William Laffan, drily
observes, in his essay entitled,
‘Buying & selling & exhibiting art
in Ireland: 1700-1900’, the artist
never exhibited again.
Mr Laffan is among more than 250
scholars who have contributed to a ground
breaking five volume series on art and
architecture in Ireland from the pre
mediaeval period to the present day.
Funding to the tune of more than €2m has
been provided, largely from the Naughton
Foundation and the Department of Arts,
Heritage & the Gaeltacht.
The first volume is devoted to the period from
400 to 1600 and was edited by Rachel Moss of
TCD. Volume two on painting from 1600 to 1900
is edited by Dr Nicola Figgis of the UCD School of
Art History & Cultural Policy, while volume three
dealing with the history of Irish sculpture is edited
by her colleague, Professor Paula Murphy, both of
whom also took a heavy writing workload.
Volume four covers Irish architecture over the
period 1600 to 2000 and its five editors include
Professor Hugh Campbell of the UCD School of
Architecture, Livia Hurley an occasional lecturer
and PhD student at UCD, Rolf Loeber, John
Montague and Ellen Rowley.
Finally, volume five, covering the Twentieth
Century, was edited by Catherine Marshall, who
was seconded to the project from IMMA, and
Peter Murray of the Crawford Gallery in Cork.
UCD scholars Figgis and Murphy played
central roles in the launch of the project, helping
to secure the critical backing of Carmel Naughton,
one of the country’s leading patrons. Another
important player was Jim Slevin of the Royal Irish
Academy.
Says Nicola : “I was mad about
William Strickland’s dictionary of artists,
published in 1913. For years, I wanted to
update it. “
Paula Murphy as Head of School, identified
this as a potential project.
However, the pair struggled for four years for
funding before securing a breakthorugh meeting
with Mrs Carmel Naughton with the assistance of
Jim Slevin of the Royal Irish Academy.
“We got going just before the crash in
September 2008. We were lucky with our main
patron. Carmel suggested that we expand the
scope of the project to include the mediaeval
period, architecture and the Twentieth Century.”
“At first, my head was sinking, but Paula was
not daunted and without her impetus the project
would never have succeeded in getting off the
ground.”
The involvement of the Academy was critical
in bringing rigour to such an ambitious project.
With it, came a panoply of peer reviews and
advisory boards.
Sally Salvesen and Yale University Press, one
of the leading publishers with a reputation for
rigorous proofing, came on board to publish the
series.
Huge effort was put in by the publishers into
the task of designing each volume.
A key goal of the project is that the books
should serve as a useful reference for students,
researchers dealers and the general reader.
Each of the five books retails at €95 and
weighs in at 3.5 kilos. The volumes are beautifully
illustrated and the books should appreciate in
value in the years to come. Given the advent of
digitalisation, they may also be the last of their
kind, Nicola Figgis believes.
The volume on painting contains a wide
variety of thematic essays covering everything
from artist materials to patronage to the history of
graphic satire.
The reader learns that 18th century painters
purchased their pigment from druggists and that
new watercolour paint boxes allowed 19th
century artists to work in the open air.
There are some excellent cartoons, one
featuring two men in striped jerseys battering
each other with hurleys, one marked ‘Separation’,
the other ‘Home Rule.’
As
for volume
three, Paula
Murphy
as
editor
and
c o n t r i b u t o r,
shines much light
across 580 pages
on Irish sculpture,
the Cinderella of Irish
art history. The reader
will discover much
about legendary figures
such as John Foley, who
crafted monuments to both
Daniel O Connell and Prince Albert. “The finest
public sculpture in the country”, says Paula. The
volume contains around 250 biographies and 47
thematic essays.
A contrast is made between traditional
sculpture, include equestrian statues such as that
to King Billy, destroyed in 1928, and the work of
modern figures such as Dorothy Cross, and the
late Ian Stuart. Patrons identified range from
1960s businessman Basil Goulding to today’s
local authority bosses under the ‘Per Cent for Art
scheme’.
The volume on Irish architecture was the put
together by a group of editors, one a Pittsburgh
psychologist, Rolf Loeber.
UCD academic Hugh Campbell believes that
as architecture is all about team work, this
approach has worked best.
“We took a theme based approach. We tried
to capture the range of issues and forces, the
things that go to make architecture happen.”
Chapter one deals with the protagonists,
architects, patrons, builders.
Next, methods of construction are covered,
followed by styles and discourse.
A key goal was to give a complete picture of
the country’s architecture, with emphasis on key
infrastructure such as bridges and piers, as well
as vernacular buildings. “The book is organised
by building types. It had to speak both to
architects and to the general reader.”
And his view on the project as a whole ? “The
default word on the volumes is ‘handsome’.”
Dr Nicola Figgis, Dr Paula Murphy and
Professor Hugh Campbell in conversation with
journalist Kyran Fitzgerald a contributor to the
Irish Examiner
5 | Winter 2014
News
Financial Times
& The Economist
confirm top 50
European ranking
for UCD Smurfit
School
UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business
School confirmed its international
standing with places in three highly
respected international rankings for 2014
– the Financial Times Executive MBA and
Master’s in Management rankings and
The Economist full-time MBA rankings.
UCD Smurfit School is the only Irish
business school whose programmes
feature in these annual world rankings
The School’s programmes achieved 21st
place in the European rankings (63rd in the
world) in The Economist’s Full-Time MBA
study and 94th globally and 34th in Europe in
the Financial Times Executive MBA report.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the
Smurfit MBA with UCD being one of the
pioneers in the delivery of MBA programmes
when they were first delivered in Europe in
the 1960s.
The Financial Times Master’s in
Management review also ranked UCD
Smurfit School’s programmes 45th in the
world; while its CEMS Master’s in International
Management programme was ranked fifth
overall. UCD Smurfit School is one of only 29
business schools selected to run this
prestigious Master’s programme.
Speaking about the rankings, Professor
Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean, UCD Business
said: “The consistency of world and European
rankings achieved by the School’s
programmes in the most prestigious
independent rankings of business education
is a tremendous achievement for our students
and graduates. This is not about us but it is
about our students: they will compete with
graduates from similar top schools
internationally and therefore so must we”.
He continued “These consistently high
rankings help us to attract high calibre
students and faculty and to partner with
other leading business schools internationally.
This creates a first-class learning environment
in the service of our students and of Ireland.
We remain dedicated to delivering education
and research programmes to the highest
standard to those who study at UCD Smurfit
School, so that we can equip them for life in
a highly competitive environment where the
development of our society and our economy
depends on high standards and an openness
to the world.”
The consistent high rankings are
reinforced by the fact that UCD Business
School remains the only business school in
Ireland (and one of less than 60 worldwide) to
hold the accreditation from three centres of
business and academic excellence; EQUIS
(Europe); AACSB (US); and AMBA (UK).
6 | Winter 2014
Enzyme
chemistry research
wins 2014 UCD
Conway Festival
medal
UCD President, Andrew J. Deeks
presented PhD student, Jennifer Cleary
with the 2014 UCD Conway Festival
medal for her research to decipher how
chymotrypsin works and how to inhibit its
action using a technique called nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR).
Chymotrypsin is a digestive enzyme that
breaks down proteins in the gut and falls into
the category of serine proteases. Jennifer is
using chymotrypsin as a model of serine
proteases. She is interested in how cancer
spreads in the body. In particular, Jennifer
wants to find out how the serine protease,
urokinase or urokinase-type plasminogen
activator (uPA) is involved in the process of
tissue breakdown that can allow cancer cells to
invade and spread around the body.
“The research findings that I presented at
the 2014 UCD Conway Festival are a small part
of my wider doctoral research project focusing
in on the active site or boiler room of the
chymotrypsin molecule”.
Prof. Andrew J. Deeks, UCD President with the 2014 UCD
Conway Festival Medal winner Jennifer Cleary
“I also used proton NMR to see what
happens at the active site to these residues
when I added an aldehyde inhibitor to
chymotrypsin to try to stop it working”.
The 2014 UCD Conway Festival of
Research & Innovation showcased excellent
work from across the breadth of the Institute
with particular emphasis on emerging research
from early career researchers. New poster
review sessions in this year’s event gave
graduate and postdoctoral researchers a
platform to discuss their research with teams
of senior researchers.
Plenary speakers at the event included
Professors Harald Mischak, University of
Glasgow; Denisa D. Wagner, Boston Children’s
Hospital & Harvard Medical School; David
Rubinsztein, Cambridge Institute for Medical
Research and Dr Jonny Finlay, Director, Pfizer.
Bord na Gaeilge
UCD welcomes
East Belfast Irish
Language
Development Officer
Linda Ervine
Bord na Gaeilge UCD celebrated European
Day of Languages on Belfield campus with
guest speaker Linda Ervine, Irish
Language Development Officer at the East
Belfast Mission. Inspired by an interest in
Irish language place names and by her
research on the 2011 census of population,
Linda was motivated to share her
knowledge of the language within and
beyond the loyalist community of which
she is a member. Her inspiring speech
highlighted the importance of language as
a means of reconciliation and the benefits
which can be derived from intercultural
exchange.
Linda Ervine ar chuairt i UCD do Lá
Eorpach na dTeangacha
D’fháiltigh an tOllamh Micheál Ó Dochartaigh,
Cathaoirleach Bhord na Gaeilge UCD roimh
Linda ar an 26 Meán Fómhair nuair a thug sí
cuairt ar Ionad na Mac Léinn UCD. Is deirfiúr
chleamhnais an fheisire David Ervine nach
maireann agus bhean Brian Ervine, Iarcheannaire an PUP, í Linda atá ag obair ina
Linda Ervine, Irish Language Development Officer at the East
Belfast Mission. Picture by James Brady, University Observer
hOifigeach Forbartha Gaeilge ag Misean
Oirthear Bhéal Feirste, post a bunaíodh le
tacaíocht ó Fhoras na Gaeilge. Thosaigh Linda
ag foghlaim na teanga í féin sa bhliain 2011 leis
an An Droichead, eagraíocht Gaeilge a chuireann
teanga agus cultúr chun cinn trí oideachas,
ealaín agus seirbhísí pobail i ndeisceart chathair
Bhéal Feirste. Spreag sin Linda dul i mbun oibre
í féin le cúrsaí Gaeilge agus ócáidí cultúrtha a
sholáthar i bhFoirgneamh Skainos ar Bhóthar
Bhaile Nua na hArda i gceantar dílseora in
oirthear na cathrach. Tá breis is 120 duine ag
freastal ar ranganna Gaeilge i bhFoirgneamh
Skainos anois, éacht nach beag i gceantar ina
bhfuil daoine ag troid ar son comharthaí a
bhféiniúlachta Briotanaí. Le linn a cuid cainte i
UCD rinne Linda cur síos ar na naisc a bhíodh
agus atá ann idir Preispitéirigh agus an Ghaeilge,
naisc atá le sonrú fós i mbannaí agus i sloinnte
i dTuaisceart na hÉireann. ‘Is linne ar fad í an
teanga’ an teachtaireacht a bhí ag Linda. Ba
mhór an onóir dúinn fáilte a chur roimh bhean
chomh misniúil, stuama agus cumasach léi.
Feature
Pictured l-r; Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD, Prof. Berry Smyth, UCD and Prof. Mark Ferguson, Director General of SFI and Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government of Ireland
UCD scholars recognised
for mentoring
and research
Professor Cormac Taylor and
Professor Barry Smyth recently
won major awards for their
mentorship and research. They
spoke to Claire O’Connell.
But honour is not a one-way street, as
Professor Taylor describes. “If a PhD student
spends three to four years of their life in a position
that is not that well paid and they work in your lab
on your ideas, they deserve respect and empathy,
and it is your role to make sure they are in the best
position possible to get a job when they are
finished,” he says, noting that within the last year
alone four people have moved on from his lab to
faculty positions at other universities.
“That’s not just because they had good
published papers on the research, they also they
were mentored into the new job - the mentorship
process isn’t over the moment the viva is done or
the paper is published, it persists until they are in
their next position.”
Modelling respect
Dr Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief, Nature and Nature
Publishing Group (left) with UCD Prof. Cormac Taylor
Sometimes, out of the blue, you get an email
or phone call that stops you in your tracks for all
the right reasons. For UCD researcher Professor
Cormac Taylor, one of those moments happened
when he checked his email to find a message from
Nature editor-in-chief Dr Philip Campbell.
Professor Taylor, Professor of Cellular
Physiology at UCD, had been nominated for a
2014 Nature Award for Mentoring in Science but
wasn’t anticipating a win. “As I opened it, I was
expecting the email to say ‘Thanks for participating’
but instead it was ‘Congratulations’,” he recalls.
Honoured relationship
As it happens, Professor Taylor was in
Switzerland meeting a former post-doctoral
student to finish a paper from their research, so it
was a fitting setting in which to hear that his
mentorship was being recognised.
“What makes it the best honour of all is that is
the students themselves and the post-docs who
have been in the lab nominated me, that is the key
thing for me,” says Professor Taylor.
He is based at UCD Conway Institute and has
graduated 15 PhD students and supervised
around the same number of post-docs, all carrying
out research on how oxygen levels in cells links to
inflammation, particularly in bowel diseases.
Professor Taylor describes credits his own
mentors with imparting those skills. After he
studied pharmacology as an undergraduate, he
did a PhD with Professor Alan Baird and then
worked with Professor Sean P. Colgan at Harvard
University, and later Professor Hugh Brady and
Professor Catherine Godson encouraged him to
come back to UCD. “They were the people who
modelled that honour and respect for me,” says
Professor Taylor. “You can’t learn it from a book or
a course.”
He is now keen that new, large collaborative
research centres make sure to pay attention to that
critical relationship between mentor and student.
“In the older model, you were more or less in the
room with your principal investigator, and you had
day-to-day interactions,” he says. “My fear is that
a certain degree of that opportunity for mentorship
will be lost in the new model. That’s not to say it
can’t happen, but it needs attention.”
Prof Taylor received his award from Philip
Campbell at the Science Foundation Ireland
Summit in Athlone on November 3rd, and on the
same day Professor Barry Smyth was officially
named as SFI Researcher of the Year 2014.
Researcher of the Year
For Professor Smyth the call had come the
previous week on the phone and he admits he was
excited and “bursting” to tell, but managed to keep
mum.
Like Professor Taylor, Professor Smyth also
studied science as an undergraduate in UCD, and
he has been staff since the mid-1990s. Today, he
holds the Digital Chair in Computer Science.
Professor Smyth is recognised internationally
for his work on software-based recommender and
personalisation systems, he co-founded two
companies (ChangingWorlds and HeyStaks) and
he led two major SFI-funded centres, first the
CLARITY Centre for Sensor Web Technologies
and more recently he was interim CEO of the
Insight Centre for Data Analytics, the largest ever
SFI-funded industry-academic research centre.
He recognises the benefits of working in an
area where links with industry mean that research
and technology can be quickly evaluated. “I rarely
distinguish between basic and applied research,
it’s a continuum and each research project travels
along that continuum,” he explains. “And I am
fortunate to work in an area where the timelines are
such that we can cook our research for a shorter
period of time and then out comes a fairly mature
idea and we can evaluate it.”
Research, teaching and entrepreneurship
With the new CEO of Insight, Oliver Daniels,
now in place, Professor Smyth remains a Director
of the centre and is looking forward to continuing
and building up his research. “I wasn’t at the right
place to give up on the research and focus solely
on leading centres, and now I’m looking forward to
getting back into more research - we are looking at
new sources of information to mine for sentiment
and opinion, it’s a really exciting time.”
He will also be bumping up his teaching hours
and seeking to nurture entrepreneurship among
the PhD students and post-docs in Insight. “The
calibre of students and post-docs we have is really
high and they move into jobs quickly when they
leave - industry wants people with these skills in
data science and analysis,” says Professor Smyth.
“And I want to ensure that our students and staff
have the entrepreneurial skills to go with the
scientific ability.”
Professor Cormac Taylor and Professor Barry
Smyth were in conversation with journalist Claire
O’Connell, science writer and contributor to Silicon
Republic and The Irish Times
7 | Winter 2014
News
UCD Business
partners with
One Young World
Summit
The One Young World Summit took
place in the Convention Centre in Dublin
from 15-18th October, with breakout
sessions hosted in 26 different venues
around Dublin. Delegates attended from
across the globe and keynote speakers
included Sir Bob Geldof, former
President of Ireland Mary Robinson and
Kofi Annan.
UCD/UC Davis (L-R): Prof. Orla Feeley, VP for Research, Innovation and Impact, UCD; Dr Paul Dodd, Associate Vice Chancellor for
Research, UC Davis; Dr Catherine Woteki; Prof. Dolores O’Riordan, Director, UCD Institute of Food and Health; Prof. Bruce German,
Director, Foods for Health Institute, UC Davis at the Irish Embassy in Washington D.C.
UCD and UC Davis hold joint inaugural
symposium on food and heath
Inaugural John E. Kinsella Memorial Lecture held at the symposium
UCD and University of California, Davis (UC
Davis) have signed an agreement of co-operation
to future develop education, research, innovation
and cultural links between the two institutions.
The signing took place at the Irish Embassy in
Washington D.C. on September 24th.
Speaking at the event, Professor Andrew J.
Deeks, President of UCD said “Researchers and
academics at our institutions have been sharing
ideas and working together for some time, but
this agreement shows a real commitment on
both sides to collaborate even further towards
common goals. It heralds a new stage of
cooperation between our two universities, a
stage which promises to be exciting and
exhilarating for all”.
He continued “Agreements of this nature do
not exist in isolation. They are part of the wider
programme of partnerships between the US and
Europe including the EU-US Science Technology
Agreement and the US-Ireland R&D Partnership
which enable our countries to achieve more
together”.
UC Davis Chancellor Linda P. B. Katehi said
“This new agreement stands as a truly significant
development, not just for our two institutions but
also for education and research in food and
health worldwide. By creating a more formal
collaborative relationship, we are building on
current collaborations and leveraging the
expertise and effort of two of the finest universities
in the world”.
The agreement builds on established links
between both institutions, particularly in the
areas of agriculture, food and health, in which
both lead internationally.
Prior to the signing of the agreement the
UCD Institute of Food and Health and the UC
Davis Foods for Health Institute held the inaugural
John E. Kinsella Memorial lecture at the Embassy
to mark the outstanding contribution Professor
Kinsella made to food and health research during
his career. Recognising an individual whose
excellence in the area is renowned globally and
who has demonstrated the successful application
of science to positively impact on the economy,
industry, policy or society.
The lecture, which will be an annual event
and hosted in alternative years on the two
campuses, was on this occasion delivered by Dr
Catherine Woteki, Chief Scientist and Under
Secretary for the Research, Education and
Economics (REE) mission area at the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Dr Woteki is a leading
internationally renowned figure in the area of
nutrition, food safety, and healthy research and
policy, who has applied her knowledge and
expertise across academia, industry and
government.
Speaking after the event, Dr Woteki said “It
was a privilege to give the first lecture named in
hour of my friend and colleague, John Kinsella.”
Woteki added “John would be thrilled to see the
advancements we’ve made in food and
agriculture research, and thanks to his great
work, his legacy will continue to shape trends in
agriculture”.
At the summit the most valuable young
talent from global and national companies,
NGO’s, universities and other forwardthinking organisations are joined by world
leaders, acting as the One Young World
Counsellors.
This year Faculty members from UCD
School of Business, Dr Maeve Houlihan, Dr
Bruce Martin, Dr Colm McLaughlin and
Professor Andy Prothero hosted an external
breakout session on October 17th in the IFSC
entitled “We need to talk about ethics
because…..”
The session began by introducing the
President of Ireland’s Ethics Initiative launched
in February 2014 to discuss Irish students’
opinions of ethical issues, before turning its
focus to the “We need to talk about ethics
because…” campaign, in which Irish students
captured and shared their own thoughts on
why ethics are important. The session
concluded by translating ideas into actions taking the ethical issues of importance raised
by the delegates by identifying practical steps
and committing to one personal action.
Six student volunteers from UCD Smurfit
School brought a group of delegates
attending the summit on a ‘One Thousand
Welcomes’ tour on the afternoon of October
17th. The delegates were taken on a local’s
tour of Dublin. They saw the real sights and
sounds of the city, not just the ones from
tourist maps, but the authentic fabric of Irish
life.
Two UCD students were nominated to
attend the Summit as delegates. Peter
Morrissey a 2014 graduate from UCD Michael
Smurfit Graduate Business School’s MSc in
Management Consultancy represented the
school
on
behalf
of
Generation
Accommodation with Cathal O’Dulachain, an
Ad Astra Scholar from UCD Lochlann Quinn
School of Business representing the
undergraduate Business School.
Database of Irish serving ‘Anzacs’ in first world war launched
Charlie Flanagan TD, The Minister for
Foreign Affairs and Trade recently launched a
database of Irish-born individuals who served
with the Australian forces in the First World War.
The publicly accessible database allows for
Irish and Australian people to trace the records
of their relatives who served in the War, known
today as “Anzacs” which refers to the “Australian
and New Zealand Army Corps” of the First
World War. It also provides statistical information
8 | Winter 2014
to help researchers understand the contribution
of the Irish to the Australian war effort.
UCD worked in partnership with the
Australian University of New South Wales
(UNSW) to compile the project. The director of
the project is Dr Jeff Kildea, Keith Cameron
Chair of Australian History at University College
Dublin.
“This pioneering work was made possible
by the Global Irish Studies Centre of the
University of New South Wales; the invaluable
partnership of UCD; and a grant from the Irish
Government’s Emigrant Support Programme. It
is a true tribute to the Irish Anzacs and a gift to
researchers, family members of Anzac
participants, and all us who possess an abiding
interest in our history,” said Minister Flanagan.
“One third of the Australian population
boasts Irish ancestry. Ongoing academic
collaboration between UCD and UNSW, two
superb institutions of learning, is representative
of the strength of our people-to-people ties.”
Feature
A Greek Master
Frank McGuinness’ Electra
at the Old Vic, London
Earlier this year,
McGuinness was
honoured with the Irish
PEN Award for
Outstanding Achievement
in Irish Literature for his
body of work, which
includes seventeen
original plays, eighteen
adaptations, five volumes
of poetry and one novel –
Arimathea, which as
shortlisted for the Bord
Gáis Energy Book Awards
Novel of the Year in 2013.
Kristen Scott Thomas features in Frank McGuinness’ charged adaptation of Electra. Photo credit Johan Persson
When “The Hanging Gardens” premiered in
the Abbey Theatre in 2013, playwright and
UCD Professor of Creative Writing, Frank
McGuinness declared that “all plays are
about a family”. And with families,
McGuinness believes “nothing is ever quite
what it seems. Nothing can ever be what it
was.” The surface presentation of a family
struggling with a father’s behaviour
brought on by his dementia is peeled back
to reveal a deeper, long running tragedy.
“There is enormous grief in that.
There is enormous release as well.”
McGuinness explains as the audience is brought
through the emotions of the various members of
the family – anger and torment, constraint and
concern.
Frank McGuinness takes another family
tragedy to the stage in his adaptation of
Sophocles’ Electra – currently running at the Old
Vic in London until 20 December 2014. In the
classic Greek tale from c420BC of betrayal and
murder, sacrifice and revenge, Electra, daughter
of King Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, seeks to
avenge her father’s murder by her mother and
her lover, Aegisthus and to claim the Mycenean
throne. Obsessed and deranged, Electra –
played by Kristin Scott Thomas - spills her
disturbed and disturbing emotions across the
stage, which is set in the round and brings the
audience very, very close. Reinforced by her
long lost brother, Orestes, confused by her
conflicted sister Chysothemis, and unhinged by
her unrepentant mother, Electra brings the
tragedy into the laps of the audience.
Apart from his original works, Frank
McGuinness has built an international reputation
for his adaptations of Ibsen, Brecht and Chekhov
but from his first adaptation of Electra in 1997,
he has risen to be one of the greatest
contemporary English-language translators of
Greek drama. From plays he has moved to
opera, writing the libretto for Sophocles’
Thebans – the Oedipus trilogy - as a single
piece, which was staged at the Coliseum in
The Old Vic theatre, London, where Electra is currently running.
Photo credit Matt Humphrey
London last May/June. Once again, the family
theme emerges and McGuinness explains how
his own place of Donegal and its politics helped
him tap into Theban’s themes of vengeance and
murder.
“What I admire most in the Greeks is their
sense of economy – they achieve magnificence
so effectively with such subtlety. There is almost
unseen means and the Greeks are superlatively
adept at constructing the play.” McGuinness
shares his deep regard for the Greeks.
“I love the passion and precision of their
writing. The very best Greek plays waste
nothing. There is a raw relentlessness in their
plots and a wonderful integrity to their passion.
They knew everything about writing and we have
not surpassed them. Shakespeare matches
them in the exercise of searching for the
imagination but even he does not excel them.
I stand in awe of them and I love to learn
what little I can from working on these verses.
The Greeks provide the added benefit that they
attract the best actors such as Kristin Scott
Thomas. As a person she is funny and intelligent.
She is a very passionate woman – very maternal
– who turns all these strengths to ferocious
advantage in the play. Her performance brings a
whole new meaning to mercurial as she reaches
right back to the damage done to Electra as and
girl. We see how the murder of her father has
utterly traumatised this grown woman, making
her both vulnerable and violent. The killing of her
mother in revenge for her father is plotted with
scarifying exactitude and when she succeeds in
her killing there is the terrible realisation that she
has gained nothing but, she has the courage to
face that desolation as she has faced every other
disaster.”
Having been steeped in Greek tragedy for so
long it’s not surprising that Frank McGuinness
has decided to take his writing in a completely
new direction He is currently working on a play
centred around country and western music. “I
have always loved country music. It is a far cry
from Greek tragedy but is also full of very
powerful women. I am very happy to be doing
something different.”
His new play will premier in 2016.
Frank McGuinness was in conversation with Eilis
O’Brien, Director of Communication, UCD.
9 | Winter 2014
News
Pictured at UCD O’Brien Centre for Science is Dr Trish Gorman, prior to delivering her keynote address, which focused on how ‘harnessing productive disruption within teams can lead to successful
innovation for businesses’, at the InterTradeIreland 2014 All-Island Innovation Conference.
UCD honorary
degree for
racehorse trainer
and breeder Jim
Bolger
Legendary trainer and breeder of
thoroughbred racehorses, Jim Bolger
has been awarded an Honorary Degree
of Doctor of Science by UCD.
Bolger has trained Group 1 winners in Europe
and Asia including winners of classic races like
Epsom and Irish Derby, the Oaks and the 2,000
and 1,000 Guineas. Uniquely he breeds many of
the horses he trains.
“Jim’s extraordinary ability to operate and
succeed at the highest level in both the highly
competitive breeding and racing industries is
unmatched by any single person,” said Dr
Emmeline Hill, UCD School of Agriculture and
Food Science, who read the citation at the
conferring ceremony.
Jim Bolger now employs more than 120
people and trains over 200 horses each year.
Since 1977 he has trained more than 2,500
winners and currently holds the record for the
greatest number of flat race winners in a season.
Pictured at the conferring: Racehorse trainer and breeder,
Dr Jim Bolger with Dr Emmeline Hill and Prof. Alex Evans,
UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science.
10 | Winter 2014
(l-r) Michelle Nolan, Law Society of Ireland; Brian McAufield, Office of the President; Dr Christopher Cowley, UCD School of Philosophy;
Prof. Kimberley Brownlee, University of Warwick; Ken Murphy, Director General, Law Society of Ireland; Attracta O’Regan & Antoinette
Moriarty, Law Society of Ireland at the Conscience, Professionalism & The Lawyer event in The Law Society, Dublin.
The Conscience Project
The UCD School of Philosophy ran a series of events exploring the place of conscience
in conscientious objection. The events, organized by Professor Maeve Cooke and
Dr Chris Cowley from the UCD School of Philosophy, are being held under the aegis
of the President of Ireland’s Ethics Initiative, with generous funding from UCD
President’s Office and UCD Clinton Institute. They focus on certain inter-related
phenomena that are currently attracting significant attention globally, in particular
whistle-blowing and civil disobedience.
The questions raised are highly relevant to
the contemporary Irish context. The worldwide
financial crash of 2008 and the related banking
crisis in Ireland has exposed many problems
with existing regulatory structures and regimes;
there is also a sense that many people knew
that their new economic prosperity was
ethically dubious but were reluctant to speak
out, for complex reasons that require further
investigation. Parallel to this are stories of
whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, who
have taken certain risks to step out of line,
apparently to highlight systemic injustice. It is
unclear to what extent their protests were
conscience-driven: this, too, is one of the
questions they aim to investigate.
Conscience may also be an important
factor in civil disobedience, for example the
recent blocking of the runway in Shannon
airport in protest against the perceived
collusion by the Irish government in US war
campaigns. Building on these explorations the
project will also explore acts of protest in other
contexts where conscience is invoked, for
example, by religious believers who refuse
certain kinds of medical treatment for
themselves or their dependents.
The investigation into these forms of
conscience-based protest has two parts. One
part seeks to present a clear picture of
conscience-based
objection
in
the
contemporary context. The other part proposes
a reconfiguration of the concept of conscience
with a view to overcoming the subjectivist bias
predominant in the contemporary academic
literature and establishing a basis for
distinguishing between enabling and disabling,
constructive and destructive, forms of
democratic dissent.
The events took place throughout October
and November and featured lectures and panel
discussions with academics from across the
world including Professor Kimberly Brownlee,
University of Warwick; Uriel Abulof, Princeton
University; Robin Celikates, University of
Amsterdam; Anita Chari, University of Oregon;
Frances Olsen, UCLA and William
Scheurerman, University of Indiana.
News
UCD Sutherland School of Law
hosts XI European Regional Congress
UCD Sutherland School of Law, in
conjunction with the Employment Law
Association of Ireland, hosted the XI
European Regional Congress of the
International Society for Labour and Social
Security Law, from the 17th - 19th
September.
HRH Princess Maha Charkri Sirindorn of Thailand and Mr Michael
Clarke, Dairy Herd Manager, UCD Lyons Research Farm
HRH Princess
Maha Chakri
Sirindhorn of
Thailand visits UCD
Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs,
Enterprise and Innovation opened the
conference. Over 260 delegates from nearly
from nearly 40 countries listened to keynote
presentations delivered by Professor Keith
Ewing, King’s College London; Professor
Sylvaine Laulom, Université Lumière Lyon 2;
Professor Keith Puttick, University of
Staffordshire; and Professor Alexander Colvin,
Cornell University.
The Congress programming was
described by the President of the International
Society, Professor Adrian Goldin, as exhibiting
“remarkable theoretical and conceptual
richness as well as the high scientific level in its
moderators, presenters and discussants”. The
Congress also benefitted from the active
presence and participation of members of the
European Association of Labour Court Judges
and the International Association of Labour
Law Journals, both of whom held their annual
meetings in UCD around the Congress dates.
Her Royal Highness Maha Chakri
Sirindorn of Thailand recently visited
UCD’s Lyons Research Farm to discover
how the facility is used to support
teaching and research at the UCD
College of Agriculture, Food Science
and Veterinary Medicine.
To mark the occasion UCD announced a
scholarship in the Princess’ name.
UCD Lyons Research Farm consists of
228 hectares of land; 151 hectares is a
grazing area for dairy and beef cattle, sheep
and horses, with around 62 hectares used for
tillage. Typically some 1,000 animals are
housed on the farm.
Earlier this year, UCD announced the
construction of a new Dairy Research and
Education Facility at Lyons Research Farm to
support research programmes in dairy
production including genetics, nutrition and
herd health management. The facility is part of
a €2 million plus investment supported by
Dairymaster, Devenish Nutrition, FBD, Glanbia,
Munster Cattle Breeding Group, Progressive
Genetics and the Irish Holstein Friesian
Breeders Association. It will serve as an
international showcase for the best in Irish
dairy technology.
UCD agricultural science degree students
can achieve 17% of the credits for their degree
course on the farm, with the farm providing a
basis for 11% of the credits required to
graduate with a degree in veterinary science.
Pauline Rudd, who recently received an Honorary Doctor of Medicine award from the Sahlgrenska Academy. Dr Rudd’s hat, made for her
personally by a French milliner using 19th century equipment and inscribed inside with her name, is the historic Swedish hat of Liberty with
ancient Swedish engravings on the gold ring.
Systems Biology Ireland and the European Molecular Biology
Laboratory sign memorandum of understanding
In October 2014 Professor Walter Kolch,
Director, Systems Biology Ireland (SBI) and
Professor Iain Mattaj, Director General of
the European Molecular Biology
Laboratory (EMBL) signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with the objective
of enhancing cooperation between the two
institutes.
This is the first MoU agreement signed
between EMBL and an Irish institution and
acknowledges mutual interest in potentially
establishing a formal EMBL partnership at SBI in
UCD.
EMBL is Europe’s flagship laboratory for the
life sciences, with more than 80 independent
groups operating across five sites. It is an intergovernmental organisation funded by public
research monies from its member states and
enters into similar agreements/MoUs with select
institutions in associated member states, where
parties believe that there is potential for further
scientific cooperation.
EMBL have pioneered a model for successful
molecular biology research that places emphasis
on dynamic, highly interactive and interdisciplinary
research groups; comprehensive training
programmes as well as the latest technologies
and methods.
Currently, the limitations of research progress
arise from data interpretation rather than data
production. EMBL researchers have been
leading the way in mapping and interpreting the
genome using model organisms. SBI researchers
are using computational models to analyse
human biological processes in an effort to
understand diseases like cancer and develop
diagnostics and therapies that are tailored to the
individual patient.
Working together, the two institutions hope
to build complementary research activities
through joint projects and exchange of
knowledge, data and personnel.
11 | Winter 2014
News
‘Be the Change’
with UCD Volunteers
Overseas
Dr Conor Shanhan and Dr Patrick Jackman, UCD School
of Biosystems Engineering, winners of the UCD AgriFood Sprint Programme, with Siobhan Wall, Associate
Director Corporate Finance, Goodbody Stockbrokers,
a member of the judging panel
UCD Volunteers Overseas with funding
from Irish Aid, offered students, staff and
alumni the opportunity to participate in ‘Be the
Change’, a 6-week introductory skills-based
course, aimed at those interested in activism
and awareness raising in Ireland and overseas.
It offered participants a chance to develop a
deeper understanding of global justice issues
and the causes of inequality world-wide.
Workshop areas included content on; social
entrepreneurship, practical campaigning, media
engagement, a profiling of social movements
and an exciting workshop called game changers
and play makers.
The course was run by UCDVO in
partnership with Comhlámh and combined
inputs from experts and experienced activists
working in Ireland with a focus on participants’
own interests.
UCD Agri-Food
Sprint Award
winner announced
An early-stage business idea focused
on using wireless sensors to monitor
environmental conditions in chicken
barns to improve poultry production
has been declared winner of the UCD
Agri-Food Sprint Programme.
The UCD Agri-Food Sprint Programme is
a one-day initiative designed and delivered by
NovaUCD in collaboration with the UCD Earth
Institute. It aims to encourage the development
of commercial outputs arising from UCD AgriFood research by engaging with UCD
researchers at an earlier stage in the
commercialisation process.
Over 70 million chickens are produced
annually in Ireland alone and the poultry
industry is highly competitive, with very tight
profit margins. A key factor impacting poultry
production is the environmental conditions
(e.g. temperature, humidity, air speed and gas
concentrations) in which the chickens live. If
these environmental conditions are non-ideal,
the chickens will eat and drink less impacting
their weight gain.
The winning business idea which emerged
from the UCD Agri-Food Sprint Programme
involves placing wireless sensors in chickens’
living spaces to record the environmental
conditions.
Real-time spatial and temporal data is
recorded and reported to a cloud repository
via 3G technology. Any deviations between
the recorded data and acceptable
environmental limits can be quickly detected;
the poultry producer informed who can then
take the necessary remedial actions. This will
help to ensure optimal environmental
conditions for poultry production resulting in
higher chicken yields.
Wholesalers will also be able to use the
data to monitor producers in terms of
production quality.
The promoters of this early-stage business
idea are Professor Shane Ward, the principal
investigator, Dr Conor Shanahan, a
postdoctoral research fellow, and Dr Patrick
Jackman, a research scientist, in the Smart
Systems Unit within the UCD School of
Biosystems Engineering, whose research has
been funded by Science Foundation Ireland.
The other UCD researchers who took part
in the UCD Agri-Food Sprint Programme
were; Professor Nick Holden, UCD School of
Biosystems Engineering; Dr Angela Feechan,
UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science
and Dr Aoife O’Gorman, UCD Institute of
Food and Health.
12 | Winter 2014
Pictured at the signing ceremony in Beijing are Gerard Keenan, Executive Chairman, Keenan, Prof. Li Ming, Director of the Institute
of Animal Sciences and Prof. Alex Evans, Dean, UCD School of Agriculture & Food Science. Also included in the photograph are
Ambassador of Ireland, H.E. Paul Kavanagh, Minister for Agriculture, Food, the Marine & Defence, Simon Coveney, Minister of
Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Han Changfu, Director General of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Wang Zhongli
and Director General International Cooperation of Ministry of Agriculture, Wang Ying.
UCD and Keenan join the Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences to
form the China-Ireland Dairy Science
and Technology Centre
An agreement was signed between UCD, Richard Keenan & Co. Ltd, and the Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences to join forces to form the China-Ireland Dairy Science
and Technology Centre was announced during a trade mission to China led by Simon
Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The tri-partite agreement will bring closer
cooperation between the parties and is an
important strategic development between China
and Ireland. The main goal is to improve feeding
efficiency, animal health and reduced
environmental impact of dairy farming.
At a signing ceremony in Beijing, witnessed
by Minister Coveney and Minister Hanfu at the
Ministry of Agriculture, Minister Coveney stated:
“The announcement of the new China-Ireland
Dairy Science and Technology Centre is exciting
and very timely. This centre will encourage
programmes of exchange and collaboration in
areas of great importance to both countries as
we face the challenges and opportunities
presented by rapidly growing dairy farming
sectors”
He continued “Ireland’s involvement in this
venture through Keenans and UCD is testament
to the calibre and professional esteem both
organisations are rightfully held in. I wish the
new centre every success for the future and look
forward to learning of its outcomes and
achievements over the coming years”.
China currently produces 38 billion litres of
milk per annum and aims to increase production
to 60 billion litres by 2020. Ireland is also
expanding its dairy sector, with the quotas being
removed in 2015. As both countries face
challenges and opportunities in dairy expansion,
it is an ideal time to strengthen the relationship
and understanding between China and Ireland’s
dairy sectors.
The centre will play an important role
delivering and extending technology and knowhow to farms in China that will improve their
efficiency and profitability. Keenan technology is
a priority technology for China in this regard.
Gerard Keenan, Executive Chairman of Keenan
stated: “The centre is a significant strategic
development and it underlines the potential
synergy between Irish technology and knowhow as part of a solution to China’s food security
and production challenges. We look forward to
bringing sustainable improvement together to
China’s dairy sector.”
Excited by the potential research
opportunities, Professor Alex Evans, Dean, UCD
School of Agriculture & Food Science noted:
“Ireland is very proud of its long tradition of cattle
production and UCD is excited by the
opportunities that this Dairy Technology Centre
will bring to advance the efficiency and quality of
dairy production for both Ireland and China.”
Feature
Dr Máire Ní Chiosáin from the UCD
School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish
Folklore & Linguistics
A pioneering new project
involving a UCD Linguistics
researcher is shedding light
on how the sounds of Irish are
produced and how they can
vary across dialects.
We produce speech sounds effortlessly.
But we are not very good at knowing how
precisely we produce particular sounds.
Now, groundbreaking research by a team
including Dr. Máire Ní Chiosáin, a lecturer
in Linguistics at University College Dublin,
may help answer this question for Irish
consonants.
It’s all down to an innovative use of technology
which uses a portable ultrasound device to
capture the tongue movements made when
pronouncing certain sounds.
“The project is working with native Irish
speakers to measure the differences in how they
form broad and slender consonants,” says Ní
Chiosáin. Irish is a useful test language for this
technology because every consonant comes in
two varieties, those traditionally called ‘slender’
consonants and those traditionally called ‘broad’
consonants. A good example is the pair of words
bó (cow) and beo (live), where the only real
difference in pronounciation is that the former is
pronounced with a broad b sound and the latter
with a slender b.
Why does this matter? “A full description of
the sound system of a language as it is spoken
involves looking at the full inventory of the sounds
in that language and how this differs from English
or other languages, says Ní Chiosáin. “The broad
and slender distinction we are documenting and
analysing is not found in many other languages.
Even in better-studied languages having this kind
of contrast, such as Russian, it is inadequately
documented with imaging technology. We are
also preserving crucial data about the various
dialects of the Irish language.”
The project is a sterling example of how Irish
social scientists can produce valuable data by
working in partnership with academics on the
other side of the world. Ní Chiosáin is working
with researchers at the University of California
Santa Cruz (UCSC) and Yale University on this
project. One collaborator, Professor of Linguistics
Jaye Padgett of UCSC, has previously worked
MAPPING
THE
SOUNDS
OF IRISH
with Ní Chiosáin on projects comparing Irish with
Russian (“Russian, one of the world’s most
widely-spoken languages, has the same kind of
contrast in the consonant system as Irish, a
minority language – although they have little else
in common,” Ní Chiosáin notes as an aside).
Another collaborator, Professor Ryan Bennett
now at Yale University also works on the syntax
and prosody of Irish with UCSC Professor Jim
McCloskey (formerly of UCD) who is one of the
world’s foremost experts on Irish language syntax.
“The current project came together when
they were joined by Professor Grant McCuire, a
phonetician at UCSC, who used a start-up grant
to buy the portable ultrasound device,” says Ní
Chiosáin. “It was decided that Irish would be a
good focus for the research.”
The collaborative project - ‘An ultrasound
investigation of Irish palatalization’ - was awarded
a US National Science Foundation research grant
earlier this year.
The research will help provide better
information to anyone – from infants through to
adults, native speakers to newcomers - learning
the Irish language. Notoriously, Irish textbooks
have struggled to explain how speakers can
articulate these differences, but Ní Chiosáin says
this research could change that. Linguists have
been working on the contrasts between Irish
consonants for years and have known how to
describe them impressionistically, though
sometimes imprecisely. The current project will
add valuable imaging data.
Another major driver for the researchers is to
record the traditional dialects. As Ní Chiosáin
notes “Irish is now predominantly spoken as a
second language, and it is changing, largely as a
result of the influence of English. Some of the
contrasts in the language are challenging for
learners to fully master. Others are declining even
in the traditional strongholds of the language. “
Volunteers for the research are fitted with a
metal helmet which keeps the ultrasound device
stable; then the speakers produce the words
asked of them. The ultrasound probe gets a
reflection that shows the shape and movement of
the tongue. The most challenging part, says Ní
Chiosáin, is processing and interpreting the
information. “It’s a reasonably new technology for
linguistic research, and techniques and methods
for interpreting the data are still being refined. It
takes hours and hours. The videos are hand
labelled and a subset of individual frames are then
analysed.”
The results to date for Connemara Irish show
that regardless of context or consonant type,
when producing a slender consonant, the front of
the tongue is higher in the mouth while, for the
broad consonants, the back of the tongue rises.
“This project will help us understand how we
achieve contrast in a sound system of language.
How different do sounds need to be to sound
different? We are exploring the parameters of the
possible sounds and variations within and across
dialects, which entails looking at how the three
main Irish language dialects differ; speakers
achieve the same contrast but in different ways.”
Celtic languages, which include Irish
Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, Manx, Cornish, Welsh
and Breton, also share certain peculiarities,
says Ní Chiosáin. “They all have initial
consonant mutations. For example, the verb
‘cur’ (to put) changes to “chuir” in the past
tense, which alters the sound; this is not very
common in languages. There are good
reasons for this, but what is really interesting
when we are studying languages is that we
get to see the full extent of what is possible.”
The veil of mystery around how we learn and
form languages is slowly being lifted. “Ultrasound
is starting to be used as a linguistic tool in speech
and language therapy to provide immediate visual
feedback, but this is a new use for it in a rapidly
evolving area,” says Ní Chiosáin.
Dr Máire Ní Chiosáin was in conversation with
Peter McGuire, a journalist with the Irish Times
13 | Winter 2014
Books
Books
Are the Irish Different?
Editor, Professor Tom Inglis
UCD School of Sociology
Manchester University Presss
Like many other nationalities the Irish often
pride themselves on being different. But in a
highly globalised society what makes the Irish
different? Is it that the Irish were so Catholic for
so long? Is it that they would never adopt the
manners and habits of their colonial masters?
Maybe the difference about the Irish is shown in
how the country’s economy went from boom to
bust and back again so quickly?
This collection of twenty-three short essays
explores the nature of contemporary Irish culture
and society, and the transformations that have
taken place over the last fifty years. Each author
offers insights into the ways in which Ireland can
be seen and understood and what it means to
be Irish. They challenge the traditional issues
that have been addressed in Irish studies and
the methods that have been used.
The essays are written by scholars from
within the human sciences who are international
experts in their disciplines. The topics covered
include the nature of Irish nationalism and
capitalism, the Irish political elite, the differences
in the Irish family, the nature of Irish Catholicism,
the upsurge in immigration, the Irish diaspora,
the Irish language, sport and music.
Judging W.T. Cosgrave – The
Foundation of the Irish State
UCD Emeritus Professor Michael Laffan
Royal Irish Academy
14 | Winter 2014
After he retired from public life, W.T.
Cosgrave, the first leader of The Irish Free State
remained for decades one of the forgotten
figures of Irish history. According to a new
biography, Judging W.T. Cosgrave, he did not
deserve such neglect. Rather he deserves much
of the credit for the stable and democratic
political system that took root after the storms of
insurrection, guerrilla conflict and civil war. “He
headed the first fully independent Irish
administration, and he presided over a slow but
steady expansion of the freedom provided by
the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.”
Using sources not previously consulted, in
Judging W.T. Cosgrave, UCD Emeritus Professor
Michael Laffan examines the political life of the
man and gives the reader a deep sense of his
career as local politician, rebel, minister, head of
government for almost ten years and opposition
leader.
Judging W.T. Cosgrave is the third book in
the ‘Judging’ series published by the Royal Irish
Academy. The other two in the series were also
written by University College Dublin academics:
Judging Dev: A reassessment of the life and
legacy of Éamon de Valera by Professor Diarmaid
Ferriter, UCD School of History and Archives;
and Judging Lemass: The Measure of the Man
by Emeritus Professor Tom Garvin, UCD School
of Politics and International Relations.
Building Technology Transfer
within Research Universities
– An Entrepreneurial
Approach
Editors, Prof Thomas J. Allen, Emeritus
Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School
of Management and Dr Rory P. O’Shea, UCD
Quinn School of Business, University College
Dublin
Cambridge University Press
Prisoners, Solitude and Time
Professor Ian O’Donnell
UCD Sutherland School of Law
Oxford University Press
Ian O’Donnell presents an exceptionally
researched study, evaluating the degree to
which prisoners can withstand the rigours of
solitude and how they experience the passing of
time. Particular focus is paid to the prison
experience, which has seldom been considered
by academic commentators.
To date little attention has been given to the
elements relating to surviving prolonged solitary
confinement. The book assesses the impact of
long term isolation and contrasts the solitude of
the prisoner experience with those who have
found themselves in solitary confinement through
no choice of their own, such as hostages, and
those who have sought out institutional
solitariness, such as certain religious orders. The
aim of which is to simulate interest in the
prisoners’ psychological world, an area that has
been somewhat neglected.
Prisoners, Solitude and Time builds upon
prisoner stories, academic critiques, official
publications, statistics and other data alongside
personal visits and interactions to prisons
including Mountjoy in Dublin, Pentonville in
London and Eastern State Penitentiary in
Philadelphia to present a new framework for
understanding the prison experience.
Academic entrepreneurship has become
one of the most widely studied topics in the
entrepreneurship literature. This book is an early
systematic attempt to analyse critically the
factors that lie behind the creation of successful
business spin-offs from university research. In it
a group of academic thought-leaders in the field
of technology transfer examine a number of
areas critical to the promotion of start-ups on
campus.
Through a series of case studies, this book
examines the current policies, structures,
program initiatives, and practices of twelve
international universities and R&D institutes to
develop a normative model of successful
academic entrepreneurship. It provides the
reader with a coherent framework for
understanding the factors driving the
entrepreneurial behaviour inside universities;
analyses how university strategy, structures and
reward systems can be designed to foster
university entrepreneurship; and describes and
assesses a range of entrepreneurial programs
and leadership initiatives used to promote
creation of start-ups on campus. The aim is to
help universities enhance the quality of their
commercialization programs. As such, this book
will serve as a valuable resource for university
research
administrators,
technology
commercialization officers, and researchers
working on innovation, entrepreneurship, and
technology.
Correction
In the book review of Death, Burial and the
Afterlife that featured in the autumn issue of
UCD Today we omitted the full academic title
for Deirdre O’Grady, Emeritus Professor of
Italian and Comparative Studies UCD.
News
Former
Unilever CEO to
Chair UCD
Smurfit School
Advisory Board
Niall Fitzgerald, new Chair
of the UCD Michael Smurfit
Graduate Business School
Advisory Board
UCD Graduate and
former Unilever
CEO, Niall
FitzGerald has
assumed the Chair
of the UCD Michael
Smurfit Graduate
Business School
Advisory Board,
as of October 2014.
Fitzgerald, a UCD Bachelor of Commerce
graduate, has had a distinguished career. He
was Chair and CEO of Unilver from 19962004 and has also chaired a broad range of
companies and public bodies including
Reuters, Hakluyt, the Nelson Mandela Legacy
Trust, International Business Council,
Conference Board, Investment Climate
Facility for Africa, British Museum, the
Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TAB) and
Advertising Association.
Speaking about his new role, Fitzgerald
said, “UCD Smurfit School should aspire to
be an international leader and I hope my
experience will help to raise the level of
ambition and impact”.
Commenting on the new Chair, Professor
Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean UCD Business,
said “We welcome Niall on board and look
forward to working with him as Chairman over
the coming years. His appointment reflects
our international ambition for our students.
Like Niall, they must compete with graduates
of the best business schools in the world –
and therefore so do we. He will serve as a
role model for our students and his insights
and experience will be invaluable to us as we
seek to further develop the School’s reputation
and reach.”
(l-r) Anna Visser and Lisa Phelan from the organising team, Prof. Kathleen Lynch, Chair of Equality Studies, School of Social Justice;
Mr Aodhán ÓRíordáin TD, Minister of State for Equality, New Communities and Culture, Ebun Akpoveta, organising team, Dr Judy
Walsh, Head of UCD School of Social Justice; Prof. Colin Scott, Principal, UCD College of Human Sciences at the School of Social
Justice Conference in the UCD Sutherland School of Law
Graduates
debate injustice
in Ireland
The UCD School of Social Justice
conference ‘Challenging Injustice in
Ireland: learning from the past actions
for the future’ took place in UCD on
October 4th.
The conference, an initiative of the graduate
students of the school, took stock of the role of
research and activism in achieving social justice
in Ireland over recent decades and pointed the
way to future challenges and opportunities. Ten
workshops took place alongside a panel
discussion, drawing from presenters experience
and knowledge of advocating for greater social
justice in Ireland.
With the run up to the 25th anniversary of
Equality Studies and Women’s studies, as well
as the 10th anniversary of the formation of the
UCD School of Social Justice, the conference
mixed theory and practice to bring together a
broad range of people and organisations
involved in the fight against justice.
Dr Judy Walsh, Head of the UCD School of
Social Justice chaired the opening session and
welcomed key speakers including Aodháin O
Riordáin TD, Minister of State for Equality, New
Communities and Culture; Mr Vincent Browne,
Broadcaster and Journalist; Professor Colin
Scott, Principal of the UCD College of Human
Sciences and Professor of EU Regulation &
Governance;
Cathleen O’Neill, Education
Coordinator with SAOL; Professor Peader Kirby,
Professor Emeritus Public Policy and
International Relations, University of Limerick;
Professor John Baker, Professor Emeritus, UCD
School of Social Justice and Professor Kathleen
Lynch, Chair of Equality Studies, UCD School of
Social Justice.
Alongside the key speakers there were
some very interesting graduate presentations
including Lianne Quigely, who questioned the
recognition of sign language in Europe; Lisa
Phelan, on voter turnout at elections and the
responsibility of the state in mobilizing all voters
and Ebun Akpoveta who spoke about racial
stratification in the labour market and its
influence on the economic outcome of migrants.
Attendees were encouraged to challenge
the growing levels of inequality both locally and
internationally. There was so much enthusiasm
generated at the conference that the hashtag
‘#ssjconf2014’ trended on the day.
Multidisciplinarity at Work: The Authentic Project
UCD is leading a major multidisciplinary project entitled Autonomic Home Area Network Infrastructure (AUTHENTIC). Within this
project both technical and social science researchers work closely together alongside their industry partners. The UCD partners of
the project include Dynamics Lab at the UCD Geary Institute and CLARITY (School of Computer Science and Informatics) with other
scientific partners based in Cork including Tyndall institute, Cork Constrained Computation Centre, Nimbus (CIT) and University
College Cork (INSIGHT Centre).
AUTHENTIC is aimed at developing and
analysing a new home area network. Pilot
homes are deployed with a number of sensors
measuring light level, temperature, humidity
and occupancy of a room and electricity
consumption of a number of appliances. The
data is wirelessly collected and sent to a
central database at UCD. Households get a
tablet and an app on which they can view their
energy consumption. This data can be
represented in financial, energy or
environmental units and comparisons can be
made between different periods.
Homes can set goals for energy
conservation and the system will provide them
with information about the achievement of
these goals and behaviour suggestions and
they regularly complete a survey to collect data
about their energy awareness and behaviour.
Within the Dynamics Lab both the sensor and
survey data is analysed and information about
routines related to energy consumption is
extracted which can be used to further tailor
the behavioural suggestion given to the
households.
Although the system is currently applied to
measure energy consumption and give the
households incentives to conserve this, future
applications are vast. The system could be
used in a smart living environment where it
learns from the observed routines how to
automatically control things like lighting and
temperature or could be used in ambient
assisted living offering assistance when
required.
The current AUTHENTIC implementation is
based on the cooperation between different
disciplines, however, future extensions of the
project could include an even wider range of
contributing disciplines.
15 | Winter 2014
News
UCD President Confers Community
Drug Programme Awards
UCD Prof. John O’Doherty who was awarded DSc
UCD Professor
John O’Doherty
awarded with DSc
Professor John O’Doherty from the UCD
School of Agriculture and Food Science was
awarded with a Doctor of Science (DSc)
degree at the UCD Agricultural Sciences
conferring ceremony on September 1st.
Professor O’Doherty presented his work
under the title “Nutrition of farm animals for
improved growth, health and environment”. In
his work he presented a substantial volume of
work addressing a variety of applied nutritional
strategies directed towards improving the
efficiency and cost of pig production worldwide.
The degree of Doctor of Science is a
higher doctorate and is awarded to scholars
who have, over a sustained period of time,
published a substantial body of ground
breaking and influential work in a field of
specialisation and who have achieved
outstanding distinction internationally in that
field.
One of the examiners of Professor
O’Doherty’s work quoted “Professor
O’Doherty’s work is of international importance
and significance”.
UCD President Andrew J. Deeks recently
conferred Diploma and Certificate awards
on the latest cohort of students graduating
from the Community Partnership Drug
Programme at UCD. The programme, run
by the UCD School of Applied Social
Science, in partnership with Merchants
Quay Ireland and Urrús, Ballymun, offers
Certificate and Diploma level courses in
drug intervention and community work.
The courses are specifically aimed at
individuals who wish to work with and address
drug and alcohol issues in Ireland and beyond,
and are aimed at a range of students, from
professionals to those who have experienced
educational disadvantage and drug issues in
their communities.
A unique aspect of the Community
Partnership Drug Programme at UCD, is the
progression route for students onto the second
year of the Bachelor of Social Science on
completion of either of the Diploma programmes.
Since 2010, twenty students have progressed
onto the degree programme, with ten of these
completing, or currently undertaking postgraduate study.
One progression student
commenced her PhD study this year at UCD.
With an annual in-take of around eighty
students, a key feature of the courses on the
Community Partnership Drug Programme is the
wide range of experience and background of the
each cohort. Modules are designed to utilise the
life and professional experience of the students,
while also allowing for the different range of
educational levels, from early school leavers to
students with post-graduate awards. This
makes for a rich learning environment as
students collaborate to discuss and develop
strategies, skills and intervention approaches to
working with problematic drug use for individuals,
families and communities.
As noted by President Deeks, the programme
‘transforms lives’, both for the graduates
themselves and for people in the communities
where the graduates apply their newly gained
skills.
Student Summer Research Awards 2014
Each year the Student Summer Research
Awards (SSRA) take place whereby
undergraduate students undertake an eightweek supervised laboratory, clinical or patientadvocate project in Ireland or at one of the UCD
School of Medicine & Medical Science’s partner
institutions. The programme brings to life the
commitment to foster a passion for enquiry,
discovery and investigative research in our
students.
SSRA 2014 culminated in a highly
successful awards evening in the UCD
Fitzgerald Debating Chamber on October 2nd .
Eight finalists selected from over sixty
participating projects presented their work to an
audience comprising of a judging panel, chaired
by Professor Ronan O’Connell, UCD School of
Medicine and Medical Science; academic and
clinical staff, classmates, friends and family
members.
After a consistently high standard of oral
presentations and project defence, the judges
named Caroline Moran as the overall Gold
Medal winner with her project titled ‘Assessment
of the Development of Neutralising Antibodies
in Mice Following Administration of
F/Hn-Lentivirus.’
Picture - left to right: Dr Nao Kodate (UCD), Prof. Jane Grimson (HIQA/Trinity College Dublin), Prof. Michelle D’Arcy (TCD), Prof. Junko Kato (UT), Dr Sebastian Dellepiane (Strathclyde University, Scotland), Dr Michelle Norris (UCD),
Prof. Nobuhiro Hiwatari (UT), Dr Tom P. Hardiman (Chairperson, Chester Beatty Library), Prof. Niamh Hardiman (UCD), H.E. Japanese Ambassador Mr Chihiro Atsumi, UCD President Prof. Andrew J. Deeks, Prof. Tony Fahey
(UCD), Prof. Shin Ushiro (Kyushu University/Japan Council for Quality Health Care), Prof. Colin Scott (Principal, UCD College of Human Sciences) and Dr Chiaki Sato (UT) at the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle..
2nd Ireland-Japan Social Science Symposium
Four Japanese academics came to Dublin
to present at the second Ireland-Japan
Social Science Symposium (IrJaSS) at the
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin Castle on
19th September 2014.
The IrJaSS is a one-year project, led by Dr
Nao Kodate , UCD School of Applied Social
Science and funded by the Japan Foundation.
It was initiated by UCD and the University of
16 | Winter 2014
Tokyo (UT) with the first Symposium taking place
place at UT in June.
UCD President Professor Andrew J. Deeks
opened the event, followed by a speech from the
Japanese Ambassador Mr Chihiro Atsumi. The
UCD Taiko (Japanese drums) team also
performed at the opening ceremony.
This second Symposium focused on policy
issues surrounding taxation, medical innovation
and regulation of quality and safety in health care
in Ireland, Japan and Europe.
The event attracted many participants
including Irish academics, practitioners and
postgraduate students from the UCD Public
Policy Programme. It was hosted by the UCD
Public Policy Programme (College of Human
Sciences), with support from the Embassy of
Japan in Ireland, the Chester Beatty Library,
Experience Japan, UCD International and UCD
Media Services.
News
Fresh from their ‘European
Water Innovation SME’ and
InterTradeIreland ‘Innovation
of the Year’ award wins,
OxyMem picked up the
overall award at the
2014 Intellectual Property
Awards. Pictured are (l-r)
Prof. Eoin Casey, UCD
School of Chemical and
Bioprocess Engineering,
and co-founder, OxyMem
with Ellen Szymanski, Senior
Director, International IP,
Global IP Centre, U.S.
Chamber of Commerce
Joint MDP Faculty Delegation
to Columbia University
A joint Masters in Development Practice (MDP) programme between UCD and TCD is moving
from strength to strength as one of the leading sustainable development postgraduate
programmes in the global family of development practice educational initiatives.
In September a joint delegation of MDP
faculty and students from both universities took
part in the organisation and presentation of
research at the 2nd Annual United Nations
Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(SDSN) International Conference on Sustainable
Development Practice (ICSDP).
Hundreds of development practitioners,
researchers, faculty members and students from
all over the world gathered to present and discuss
their research on evidence-based solutions for
the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda.
The conference was organised over eight streams
of four daily plenary sessions linked to the UN
millennium development goals, with over 130
individual research projects presented over the
course of two days.
Professor Paul Wash, UCD School of Politics,
opened and closed the conference and chaired
the conference academic steering committee.
The Irish MDP delegation was by far the most
involved international team and presented four
individual research projects from faculty members
Pesky gNATs
Wins the 2014
SPARKie “Good”
Award
On October 30th the 2014 “Good” SPARKie
award was awarded to a computer game
based mental health intervention for children
called “Pesky gNATs”. The SPARKies
acknowledge the very best technology
people, products and companies linked to
the West of England. They include a “Good”
award for the best use of technology for the
greater good of us all.
Pesky gNATs was co-designed by Dr Gary
O’Reilly at the UCD School of Psychology and
and chaired seven plenary sessions by both
faculty and students.
UCD MDP faculty member involvement
included Dr Conor Galvin, UCD School of
Education, who chaired the two plenary sessions
for Early Childhood Development, Education, and
Transition to Work and Dr Conor Buggy, UCD
School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and
Population Science, who presented the initial
findings of a climate change awareness project in
Africa currently being undertaken through the
MDP programme. MDP students Ms Julia
Schroer and Mr Bryan Lee took on significant
roles in the organisation of student focused
plenary sessions and the conference social media
giving them both invaluable practical experience
of research conference organisation.
The activities of the conference highlighted
the strengths of the only MDP programme that is
coordinated as a joint effort by two leading
universities, and cemented the joint UCD-TCD
MDP programme as a leader in this field.
Dr David Coyle at the Department of Computer
Science, University of Bristol, with Bristol based
game developer Opposable Games.
Pesky gNATs is a world leader in using
technology to transform the delivery of mental
health interventions for children, comprising of
three components.
Firstly, a computer game that delivers a
child friendly Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
intervention played in session with a mental
health professional. With multiple levels, each
level delivers a single component of a
customized developmentally appropriate CBT
intervention and is designed to be the equivalent
of a standard therapy session in length to play
Secondly, a mobile app which has weekly
CBT tasks, mindfulness and relaxation skills.
Finally, there is an on-line training suite for
mental health professionals to train in how to
use the programme.
Pesky gNATs will be officially released in
early 2015 with a range of games tailored to
different mental health problems experienced
by young people.
International
conference on
modern sacred
architecture in
Germany and
Ireland
The UCD School of Art History and
Cultural Policy hosted an international
conference on modern and sacred
architecture in Germany and Ireland in
Newman House, UCD from the 9-11th
October. The conference was funded
by the Goethe Institut Dublin
alongside seed funding from UCD
Research and the UCD College of
Arts and Celtic studies.
The event was co-organised by
Kathleen James-Chakraborty, Professor of
Art History in UCD and Lisa Godson who
lectures on visual culture at NCAD and
attracted a large audience. Keynote
speeches were delivered by Amandus
Sattler of Munich, the architect of the Herz
Jesu church, widely recognised as one of
Europe’s most important new sacred
buildings, and Niall McLaughlin, a graduate
of UCD who now practices in London, and
whose Bishop Edward King Chapel in
Oxfordshire was shortlisted by the Royal
Institute of British Architects for last year’s
Stirling Prize.
Eleven other talks were delivered by
scholars based in Belfast, Berlin, Cologne,
Dresden and Dublin. These chronicled how
new ideas about scared architecture
spread from Germany to Ireland and were
disseminated from there to Africa, about
how they influenced synagogue and
mosque architecture in the two countries,
and about the adaptive re-use of both
historic and modern churches as well as
synagogues to serve other purposes.
17 | Winter 2014
News
An image depicting
a family of Daphnia,
collected from the
lake at University
College Dublin, has
been selected as the
overall winner of the
2014 UCD Images of
Research Competition.
The winning image
was taken by Karl
Gaff, a research
technician in the UCD
School of Biology and
Environmental Science
Social Farming Across Borders Conference
The Social Farming Across Borders (SoFAB) conference took place in Belfast Castle on
September 10th. The conference marked the end of a three year pilot project that involved
10 farm families in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Republic of Ireland.
The SoFAB Project was funded through the
European Regional Development Fund and led
by UCD’s School of Agriculture in partnership
with Queens University Belfast (QUB) and Leitrim
Development Company.
The SoFAB Project delivered almost 1,600
person days of social farming experience to the
66 people who used the service between April
2014 and June 2014. As well as successfully
putting social farming on the map, through wide
ranging awareness raising and piloting services
on 20 firms, the project also left a legacy of over
80 people trained in the delivery of social farming
as well as a report on the costs and benefits of
social farming.
Research gathered during the project was
presented by Aoibeann Walsh from QUB who
demonstrated that the benefits of the initiative
had helped a broad range of vulnerable people
suffering from mental health problems and
learning disabilities, through engaging in the day
to day tasks associated with farming first hand.
It also helped connect with communities,
providing a vital link between well-being and rural
life in Ireland. “It demonstrates that social farming
has the potential to make a difference to the lives
of so many people whether it is someone
recovering from illness or a farm family opened
their doors to a new diversification opportunity”.
Dr. Jim Kinsella, UCD School of Agriculture
commented that “The SoFAB project has been
very successful in raising awareness, learning
lessons, training people and paving the way for
social farming in Ireland and Northern Ireland. He
was adamant that “the future of social farming
lay in converting the interest of the Health Trusts
and the Health Service Executive into contracted
services with farmers that have the potential to
offer thousands of people the opportunity to avail
of social farming in years to come”.
Collaboration
with UCD wins
Citi a Corporate
Social
Responsibility
Award
On September 18th, Citi won the
‘Excellence in Community’ award at the
annual Chambers Ireland Corporate
Social Responsibility 2014 Awards, for
its collaboration with UCD.
Since 2011 Citi Foundation has been
working with UCD Access and Lifelong
Learning, enabling the unit to develop the
Future You Mentoring Programme.
Future You is an integral part of
the access outreach programme which
aims to empower and support school pupils
from socio-economically disadvantaged
communities and students with a disability to
progress to and succeed at third level.
UCD students from Tallaght, Ballyfermot,
Clondalkin and Crumlin are trained as
mentors and in pairs they visit 5th year
school pupils from their local schools and
communities to deliver structured mentoring.
The students share experiences about school
and college, discuss study methods and
Leaving Certificate tips and provide on-going
peer-support with the aim of encouraging a
greater awareness of future opportunities in
the world of third level education and work.
In recognition of this project, UCD has
created a number of scholarships for Future
You students who successfully transition to
undergraduate programmes in UCD.
New ‘UCD
Authors Collection’
launched
UCD has, throughout its history, played
an outstanding and pivotal role in the
building of the Irish nation and in the
preservation, understanding and transmission of its heritage. Our staff and
alumni have published many of the critical
works that have underpinned and influenced debates and policies that have
shaped the state.
The UCD Library is creating a new ‘UCD
Authors Collection’, to bring together and
showcase, for the first time in one location, all
of the printed books of former and current UCD
academics and of prominent UCD alumni. This
collection will be located in UCD Special
Collections, and will form part of the overall
UCD heritage collection.
Where possible, autographed copies of the
books will be held, and as they will make up
part of our heritage collection, will not be
labelled or stamped. Where new copies of the
18 | Winter 2014
Pictured at the launch of the UCD Authors Collection are Ursula Byrne, UCD Library; Eilis O’Brien, Director of Communications,
UCD and Evelyn Flanagan, UCD Library
books cannot be supplied, copies from our
main collections will be transferred into this new
‘UCD Authors Collection’. This new collection
will complement the holdings of the UCD
Archives Collection.
The collection has been started with 44
books coming from subjects as varied as
Gaeilge and Archaeology to Psychology and
the hope is that all authors and publishers will
contribute signed copies to this special
collection.
Special thanks to Michael J. Bannon,
Majda Bne Saad, Bernadette Bradley, Joseph
Brady, Alan Carr, Peter Clinch et al, Philip
Cotrell, Mary Daly, Dympna Devine, W. J. C.
Donnelly, Bryce Evans, Diarmaid Ferriter, Anne
Fogarty, Nicole Grimes et al, Niamh Hardiman,
Judith Harford, Eric Haywood, Jonathan
Herring et al, Hans Krabbendam, Kathleen
Lynch, Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, Anne Macdon,
Emily Mark-Fitzgerald, Louise McHugh, Joseph
A. McMahon, John McNerney, M. L. Monaghan,
Niamh Moore, Wolfgang Narx, Diane Negra,
Séamus Ó Catháin, Nellie Ó Clérigh, Ian
O’Donnell, Cormac Ó Gráda, Emmanuel
Reynaud, Anthony Roche, Claire Rush, Ian
Stewart, John M. Thompson, Ríonach Uí
Ógáin, Brendan Walsh and Oonagh Walsh who
have contributed to the collection to date.
Sport
UCD International Ladies GAA Team pictured at the 2014 Fexco Asian Gaelic Games
An impressive debut for the UCD
International GAA Ladies Team in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
UCD recently made history at the Fexco
Asian Gaelic Games in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia by sending the first International
ladies GAA team of its kind to the 2014
competition. Coached by Brian Mullins,
the 12-person team comprised of
international students from Canada,
China, Vietnam, Uganda, Nigeria, Poland,
USA, Denmark and Sweden. Signing on
as key sponsors were ESB International,
Bank of Ireland and O’Neill’s.
UCD participated in the Ladies’ Junior
Division of the nine-a-side competition and
enjoyed an impressive debut at their inaugural
Games. Day one of the competition saw the
team winning three out of their four league
games, ensuring a place in the quarter finals.
Day two dawned and the heat on the pitch
intensified, allowing UCD to reach the final four
but were narrowly defeated by Taiwan in an
action packed and fast paced semi-final.
Amongst the many well wishers and
supporters were other UCD students and
graduates attending the Games. In particular
the Shanghai Men’s and Ladies’ team were well
represented by students on Exchange with
UCD Partner Universities. UCD has 36 students
on exchange in China this year, with another 18
in wider Asia region.
Although the team missed out on taking
home any silverware, an unexpected honour
was bestowed upon UCD player, Aisling Kerr.
Hailing originally from Boston, Aisling was
awarded an All Star Award for her efforts
throughout the competition and this news was
celebrated by her jubilant UCD team mates.
UCD supporters were also deighted that Alice
Malone, a Laois native and recent UCD
B.Comm with Chinese Studies graduate, who
playing with the Shanghai Ladies side, received
All Star Award and Player of the Tournament.
Summing up events, Brian Mullins, UCD
Director of Sport, spoke about the team’s
experience in Malaysia, “This opportunity has
been a once in a lifetime experience for the
team. The ladies displayed great team spirit
and were excellent Ambassadors for UCD as
they embarked upon the journey. The reception
and goodwill from alumni and friends in Kuala
Lumpur was overwhelming and we are
extremely grateful to our sponsors – without
their support none of this would have been
possible”.
UCD staff golf society win both
intervarsity and colours competitions
The UCD golf society hosted the annual
intervarsity competition in Powerscourt
golf club in April. Ten universities and
Institutes of Technology competed for the
perpetual shield with the UCD team coming out as victorious for the first time in
17 years.
The society also claimed victory in the
annual colours competition in October, played
between UCD and Trinity. The UCD staff golf
society was founded in 1993, it currently has 80
members and is open to staff in all the university
campuses. UCD President Professor Andrew J.
Deeks is the honorary President of the club.
(l-r) Brian McBreen, Tommy Murtagh, Margaret Worrall,
Brian Kane Captain 2014, Prof. Andrew J. Deeks, Honorary
President; Geraldine McDermott, Liam Carroll, Tom Culligan,
Helen Dawkins. Absent from photo- Madeleine O’Dwyer and
Stewart McKee
(Top to bottom) UCD Ad Astra equestrian athletes
Emma O’Dwyer (Showjumping), Jodie O’Keefe (eventing)
and Ana O’Brien (Horse Racing)
Leading UCD
equestrian ladies
in the spotlight
New equestrian additions to the UCD
Ad Astra Elite Athlete Academy, Jodie
O’Keeffe (Eventing), Emma O’Dwyer
(Showjumping) and Ana O’Brien (Horse
Racing) are already reaching the stars.
Jodie O’Keefe has just returned with the
title of Under 21 Munster Young Rider of the
year having acquired the highest number of
points at senior level during the competitive
season in Munster. This follows on from
winning team Gold at the Under 21 European
Eventing Championships in Portugal in
September. In addition, she achieved bronze
when competing for UCD at the
Interprovincials in October 2014.
Emma O’Dwyer was invited to compete
at the CSI 3* (Senior International Circuit) at
Saint-Lo, France and came 2nd in the 6 bar,
jumping a height of 2m. In addition, she
achieved 4th place in the Opening 3* speed
class. This is a huge achievement for a rider
who still has two years to compete in the
Under 21’s whilst also competing against
silver medalists from the World Equestrian
Games and the leading lady rider in the
world.
Ana O’Brien was the first lady jockey to
ride in the Group One Classic, the Irish
Oaks. She is currently the leading Irish lady
flat-racing jockey.
19 | Winter 2014
News
UCD Enactus Team 2014 (l-r) - Constantin Lenk, Stephanie O’Malley, Aoife Buckley, Andrea Harvey, Roisin Lee, Patricia Kastner, Eimear O’Donnell and Cian O’Sullivan
UCD Student Team Represent Ireland
at 2014 Enactus World Cup Final
A team of UCD students, led by Aoife
Buckley, an MSc student in Management
Consultancy in the UCD Michael Smurfit
Graduate Business School, represented
Ireland at the 2014 Enactus World Cup
final, which took place in Beijing, China
from 22 to 24 October.
The University
Observer marks its
20th Anniversary
The 7th October 2014 was landmark day
in student media as the University Observer
celebrated 20 years in the business.
The day itself was marked with a special
anniversary supplement, which saw past
editors and writers reminisce about their time
with the paper. The celebrations continued
with over 100 people involved in the paper’s
20 year history, including Journalist Pat Leahy
and Comedian Dara O’Briain, come together
for a special event held in the Fitzgerald
Chamber in the UCD Student Centre.
During its 20 year tenor the newspaper
has gained critical acclaim for its standards
and skills writers and has offered a first home
to many of Ireland’s top journalists including
Declan Walsh, Alan Torney, Samantha Libreri,
Emmet Ryan and Sorcha Nic Mathuna.
Most recently it won Newspaper of the
Year 2014 at the National student Media
Awards (Smedias) and still remains the only
Irish student newspaper to win an award in
the Best Newspaper category at The
Guardian Student Media Awards.
20 | Winter 2014
The UCD students secured a place at the
finals after winning the 2014 Enactus Ireland
National Competition for their social
entrepreneurship project entitled ‘Generation
Accommodation’ which seeks to match
students who cannot afford to pay rent with
elderly people living alone.
At the competition they presented the
results of their community outreach projects
through a written annual report and live audio
visual presentation, beating off stiff competition
from 35 other countries to make it to the final
four.
The other members of the UCD winning
team are students; Roisín Lee, Constantin Lenk,
Patricia Kastner, Cian O’Sullivan and Andrea
Harvey.
UCD success at national final
of Thesis in 3 competition
UCD PhD students, Aoife Murphy
and Darragh Whelan successfully
represented UCD at the 5th annual
national final of Thesis in 3, a science
communication competition that
challenges postgraduate students from
research institutions across Ireland
present their research in a series of
concise, rapidly paced talks consisting
of three slides, in three minutes.
Twenty postgraduate students rose to the
challenge to describe their research simply to
a packed house of 250 people and a panel of
judges including Will Goodbody, RTÉ Science
correspondent; Claire O’Connell, Irish Times
journalist and Margie McCarthy, Science
Foundation Ireland.
Aoife Murphy, PhD student in UCD
Conway Institute and UCD Institute for Food
& Health won 3rd prize for her talk on
‘Obesity: It’s InFATuating’. She described
obesity as similar to a stomach bug, with
certain fatty foods causing stress on our body,
and how the immune system tries to defend
itself by inflaming the body which can lead to
problems such as type 2 diabetes.
(L-R) William Fitzmaurice, SBI; Jennifer Gaughran, DCU
(winner); Aoife Murphy, UCD (3rd place); Ruairi Robertson,
UCC (2nd place); Darragh Whelan, UCD (audience prize);
Aoibheann Bird, Insight; Philip Smyth, UCD Access.
Darragh Whelan from the Insight Centre
for Data Analytics picked up the audience
choice prize. His research focuses on
predicting injury risk in athletes and the
general population using new and accessible
technologies.
The event, hosted by RTÉ’s Jonathan
McCrea, is sponsored through the SFI
Discover Programme and co-organised by
Systems Biology Ireland and Insight Centre
for Data Analytics.